Handcuffed to My 4-Leaf Clover
by mmooch
Summary: The Mayor comes up with a diabolical scheme to tear his enemies apart. Too bad he's working on old intel. **Winner of 2010 COA Best BtVS/AtS Story!**
1. Chapter 1: The Mayor’s Plan

**Handcuffed to My 4-Leaf Clover**

Summary: The Mayor comes up with a diabolical scheme to tear his enemies apart. Too bad he's working on old intel.

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Timeline: post season 3 _'Lovers Walk'_; Oz and Willow have broken up because of her kiss with Xander.

Challenge: #2789: '_"I'm looking over a four leaf clover" _Challenge' by halfbloodpuffskin and #2886: 'Handcuffs of love...' by Methos.

A/N: This is for the 'Hug a Donor' challenge. Thought I'd mix two together. Wasn't planning on posting another multi-chaptered story just yet, but you can thank jrabbit for coming up with this challenge that I just couldn't ignore. Yeah, it's all _his_ fault! *giggle*

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

**Chapter 1: The Mayor's Plan**

**Mayor's office**

The not-so-honorable (well, he was when it came to evil things, but not overall) Mayor Wilkins looked at the item in front of him, then back at his vampire assistant. "You're sure about this?"

"All our sources – including that worm of a principal – say the girls are best friends. Doing this will tear that happy little group apart," Trick said with a gleeful evil smirk on his vampiric visage.

Turning the plan over in his head, the Mayor had to ask, "How do you know they even feel that way about each other?"

Trick leered at his boss. "Simple law of the jungle, boss. You put two predators together, they'll either want to kill each other…or fu--"

"Ah, ah, ah…watch your language!" the oddly prudish Mayor interrupted. "I see your point though. Either way will work in my favor. If the Slayer kills him, then the others will turn on her. If he kills her, then we have the broken Slayer to deal with – not a problem. If they get intimate, they'll be outcasts in their group. It's just dandy when a plan is win-win…for me, anyway."

"So we have the okay to move forward with the plan?" Trick asked, looking at the sorcerer they contracted for the original part of this little escapade.

The Mayor clapped his hand together joyfully – like a little kid on his birthday. "Yes, indeedy you do!"

* * *

**Bronze**

Buffy looked at Willow's ex with a sad expression on her face. She couldn't figure out why Xander and Willow would do something so stupid. She wasn't exactly president of Cordy's fan club, but even Queen C didn't deserve what they did. And Oz… Buffy just felt horrible for the two wronged parties – even if she couldn't come right out and say it.

"I just wanted to tell you that even though you and Willow are going through a rough patch right now, we still consider you part of the group. If you need anything, just ask Faith, Giles or me. Got it? You're our friend, too, not just Willow's arm candy, though you are pretty cute – especially when you blush like that," she teased.

Chuckling softly, Oz gave her a rare smile…especially nowadays. "Thanks. I needed that. Just don't be surprised if I don't show up for a lot of Scooby meetings for a while; it's too hard to see her or him right now."

"I get it." Buffy nodded understandingly. She had a hard time being around Angel, and their situation was nothing like Oz's – apart from the painful reminders of what once was.

Just then Xander strolled up to them and slapped a pair of handcuffs on them, then walked away like nothing happened. Buffy looked at her left hand – which was now tethered to Oz's left hand – in disbelief. "What the hell? Xander?!" she yelled, but he kept moving like he didn't hear her.

When they finally caught up with him, Xander took in their joined hands with a raise of his eyebrow. "Umm, any special reason you two are cuffed? Practicing for your future in law enforcement, Buff?"

Oz glared at him, fighting to maintain his composure. "You did this to us."

"What are you talking about?" Xander asked, honestly confused.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Buffy pointed to where she and Oz were just standing. "Not two minutes ago, you came over and put these cuffs on us and walked away!"

Xander shook his head slowly, "No, I didn't. I don't remember doing it." His eyes widened in panic. "Oh my god, I don't remember anything since I went to the bathroom…half an hour ago! What happened to me?"

Buffy pinched the bridge of her nose, oddly mimicking her Watcher for a second. "You're obviously okay, Xan. I don't see any injuries on you. C'mon, let's go see Giles; maybe he can explain this to us." She looked between her and Oz for a minute, forgetting how they had managed to walk over to Xander. "Uh, I think this will be easier if one of us walks behind the other one."

Despite the awkwardness that would cause, Oz agreed that it would be easier than one of them walking backwards. "Good idea."

* * *

A/N: Next…Awkward moments.


	2. Chapter 2: Awkward Moments

**Chapter 2: Awkward Moments**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #2789: '_"I'm looking over a four leaf clover" _Challenge' by halfbloodpuffskin and #2886: 'Handcuffs of love...' by Methos. This is for the 'Hug a Donor' challenge. Thought I'd mix two together.

A/N: There'll be an explanation about the handcuffs coming up for those that don't check out the challenge on TtH.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

**School Library**

Racing through the doors, Buffy practically screamed, "Giles! Something wiggy is going on!"

Giles walked out of his office, startled at the particular trio standing before him. He wouldn't have thought Oz would be in the same room as Xander for quite some time – at least not willingly. Setting that aside for the moment, he chided his Slayer, "No need to shout; I'm right here."

Before she could say anything else, Xander blurted out, "Somebody brainwashed me and made me do things!"

"Like cuffing us together," Oz muttered under his breath, glaring at the brunette teenage boy.

"Dear lord, you don't think it was Drusilla?" Giles gasped, his face draining of all color at the thought of that…creature being back in Sunnydale.

Buffy added her own glare towards Xander for not considering how Giles would react to talk of mind control. Then she tried to reassure her distraught Watcher, "I doubt it. Last Spike saw of her, she was getting all cozy with a chaos demon. Hey, do you think Ethan ever sees those things – you know, on account of him being a chaos mage?" she ask in an attempt to distract him from the dark place his mind was obviously taking him.

Grateful for the change in subject, Giles smiled weakly at her, then answered seriously, "Highly unlikely. If Ethan tried to cast any spells around a chaos demon, they would be very unpredictable. He likes his chaos organized."

Oz raised an eyebrow at the remark. "Isn't that a contradiction in terms?"

"Excuse me, can we get back to somebody doing the mind mojo on me?!" Xander demanded, oblivious to the tension his comments were causing.

"Of course. What's the last thing you remember before you woke up?" Giles questioned, concentrating on the crisis at hand.

Xander's brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to recall. "I was in the bathroom at the Bronze, and this guy in a suit bumped into me. Uhh…shoot, the next thing I know, Buffy and Oz are asking me why I cuffed them."

Making an intuitive leap that it wasn't some human-looking demon, Buffy guessed, "So we thinking a spell of some kind?"

Giles nodded, but still looked confused. "Could be, but why? What could be gained by cuffing the two of you together?"

"Makes it harder for her to slay," Oz theorized.

Buffy didn't look that convinced by his argument. Her mind started brainstorming, and her mouth let the others in on it. "Yeah, but you aren't exactly the worst person to cuff me to. For that matter, why cuff me to anyone? Why not just to a steel pole? Or kill me if they want me out of the way."

Setting aside his unease at his Slayer's casual mention of her own death, Giles hypothesized, "Maybe it's time-sensitive, and they don't want to kill you because your death would cause them too many other problems."

Oz could see it was upsetting Giles to talk about this, so he changed the subject once again – albeit to _another_ uncomfortable topic, "Can we worry about that after we get the cuffs off? I need to use the little wolf's room."

Giles nodded in agreement as he moved to his office. "Just let me get my tools." Several minutes and failed attempts later… "I don't understand this. I can feel the handcuffs unlock, but they won't open." Then his eyes widened in realization. "Dear lord, I think they've been spelled to remain on you!"

Whimpering softly, Buffy's shoulders slumped in resignation. "Great! Just what we need. Well, let's get this over with. Giles, do you have something I can put over my eyes and plug my ears? I may have to go into the boys' bathroom with Oz, but I don't really want the full experience."

"Here you go. Just be careful on your way there and back." After the two of them left the library, Giles turned to Xander. "Why don't you head on home, Xander? We'll discuss your situation more tomorrow. Just pay close attention to the time and note any lapses that occur. Actually, maybe it'd be best if somebody took you home. I assume Cordelia still isn't speaking to you?"

Remembering the look on his ex-girlfriend's face when he tried to visit her in the hospital, Xander shook his head. "Nope, she's still pissed off. Besides, she's still in the hospital."

Giles felt bad for all the children involved. It was difficult when feelings shifted and you weren't mature enough to control them. Knowing what he was about to say wasn't going to make things easier, Giles still said it, "Then I would suggest you ask Willow to watch you tonight. I'm going to be busy trying to figure out why somebody would try to get Buffy out of the way like this."

**Meanwhile…**

Leading the blindfolded Slayer to the bathroom, Oz thought over their peculiar situation. Quite honestly, if he had to be handcuffed to any of the group, she probably was the least objectionable – despite the discomfort of situations like this one. He didn't even want to think about if either one had to take a shower. Hopefully they'd get the cuffs off before that happened.

On the plus side, it could have been Xander or Willow he was locked to. That would have been absolutely unbearable for him. For Buffy, he supposed the worst case would be Angel. To be forced to be that close to somebody you once loved – maybe still did – and _know_ that you couldn't touch them… Oz wondered why Angel stayed in Sunnydale now that he was better. Being near each other had to be driving them crazy – just not literally, he hoped.

_Great, now comes the fun part of relieving himself with a girl right next to him._

Oz removed one of the earplugs to talk to Buffy, "I'm going to position you so that you're facing the other direction. When I'm done, I'll take the earplugs out, 'k?"

"Alright. Just hurry, please?" she pleaded while she worked the earplug back in tightly.

Despite really needing to go, Oz felt so uncomfortable with Buffy standing right there that it took several _long_ moments before his bladder started to empty. Tucking himself back in and flushing the urinal, he came to the realization that doing such things one-handed was a lot more difficult than he anticipated. And if it was that hard for him, how bad would it be for Buffy? If they were lucky, they wouldn't have to find out.

Even though he only used the one hand, Oz still washed both – which allowed Buffy the chance to do the same. It was like an instinct for her; be in the bathroom, wash your hands before leaving. She thanked him for getting her soap and towels since she refused to be unblindfolded until they left the room. That would make all this too real. She liked her little piece of real estate in Egypt.

As soon as they were in the hallway, Buffy ripped off the blindfold and started rushing for the library. "Let's go see if Giles has come up with anything yet."

If they had been thinking about it, Oz and Buffy would have been startled to find out they were already working in harmony – most notably in their walking stances. Maybe it was because of their similar heights, but their strides matched perfectly, and there was none of the disjointed shuffling from two different people forced to walk in such close proximity.

* * *

A/N: Next…Blending movements.


	3. Chapter 3: Blending Together

**Chapter 3: Blending Together**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #2789: '_"I'm looking over a four leaf clover" _Challenge' by halfbloodpuffskin and #2886: 'Handcuffs of love...' by Methos. This is for the 'Hug a Donor' challenge. Thought I'd mix two together.

A/N: I hope this will clear some questions up about the handcuffs.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

**Back in the Library**

Giles looked up from his books when they walked in. "Ah, there you are. I had Willow take Xander home so we could be sure nothing else happens to him. I assumed that it would be too uncomfortable to have him stay here."

Choosing to answer for Oz, Buffy nodded. "Probably a good guess there, Watcher-mine. Don't suppose you figured out how to bust us out of these things? Picking them didn't work, and I tried busting them in the van on the way here. All that I managed to do was hurt Oz, though," she added with an apologetic look at her friend, to which he responded with an understanding smile.

After a moment's hesitation, Giles answered, "I'm sorry, no. I do have one favor I can call in, though. He's much better at detecting spells than I am; he might even be able to tell us the specifics of it."

"Can we call him then? It's gonna be awfully hard to explain to my mom why I have to bring a guy to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Not to mention the conniption she's gonna have if we have to sleep together." Buffy winced when she imagined that scene. 'Honestly, Mom, I _have_ to sleep with my best friend's ex!' Yeah, _that_ would go over well. Plus, how would she explain why she was cuffed to him in the first place? _She_ didn't understand that either.

"It may take some time for me to contact him; he doesn't necessarily stick to this plane of existence all the time," Giles warned. "Why don't you practice your katas…see if you can manage them in your current situation. We have to be prepared in case you need to do any slaying this way."

"Great. Okay, let's get kata-ing." She started pushing objects out of the way so they had plenty of space to move.

Knowing the answer, Oz still asked, "Is that the technical term for it?"

Sure enough, Giles muttered, "Not even close."

Buffy led Oz to the center of the open area and began giving him instructions. "Alright. We start with our feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Uhh, I think it would be better if you were behind me so you can mimic my actions. Now put your arms out on either side of me with your wrists limp so your hands are drooping. Good. Now follow my movements."

A few minutes later, Oz commented, "This is very calming. I assume you use it for mediation?" He was pleasantly surprised at how relaxed Buffy was – despite the circumstances. Not that he assumed she was flighty or anything, but this wasn't really a side of her he witnessed before. She was quiet without being sulky or sad.

Their first attempt was more clumsy than Buffy was used to. However, with each time through the five minute kata, their motions merged together, and their bodies drew into each other. Finally, they looked like they were one person as they moved – both in motion and in space.

When they finished their current loop, Giles spoke up, unashamed that he had been entranced by them, "That is remarkable. I have never seen two people move so perfectly together. It's like you are of one mind and body."

Wincing, Buffy admitted with embarrassment, "Yeah, well, my half of our body needs to use the bathroom now. Can you get the blindfold and stuff?"

Oz decided not to make her more uncomfortable by reminding her of his sense of smell – or the fact that the ear plugs probably wouldn't help him as much as they did her. Or maybe they didn't help her as much as she let on, and it was just a way of pretending. He could do that.

When they got back to the library, Giles had a creepy-looking visitor dressed in all black. Only his eyes and part of his nose were visible from the covering he had wrapped on his head.

Taking in Giles' semi-relaxed expression, Buffy asked while carefully moving closer to the weapons, "Uh, Giles? Friend of yours, or do I need to make with the slaying?"

"This is my…acquaintance, the Mage. He's the one I mentioned earlier who might be able to assist us," Giles replied. The Mage didn't have 'friends' per se, just those who owed him favors and who he owed favors back; Giles happened to be on the receiving side this time.

The man/creature glided over to them and studied the cuffs silently. Then he looked intently at Buffy, then Oz before giving them a slight nod. He went back to Giles, murmured something to the Watcher, then disappeared by fading away before their eyes.

After organizing his thoughts, Giles selectively passed on the information given to him, "He said they are locked with a spell that will only release when you discover – and verbally acknowledge – your feelings for one another."

Buffy sighed in relief; this wouldn't be bad. "Okay, well that should be easy then. Oz, you are a nice guy, and I care very much about you," she told him sincerely.

He gave her a full smile, then answered, "Thanks. Buffy, you are an amazing woman, and I am proud to call you my friend."

They both looked at their hands expectantly, then turned in unison to Giles when the cuffs remained locked.

It was Giles' turn to sigh – although not in relief like his Slayer. "Guess that's what he meant by you have to 'discover' your feelings. Those are just the feelings you consciously know about. You'll have to work at getting to the core of your feelings."

Her shoulders slumping, Buffy complained, "This sounds like something that will take a long time. I'll have to come up with an excuse why I'm not coming home tonight. 'Cause Mom is _not_ gonna understand this one!"

"You can always crash at my place; my folks won't care," Oz offered with a shrug.

Giles and Oz listened as Buffy gave her mother a very creative excuse why she had to stay at Oz's house for Slayer-related reasons – all the while not telling her about the cuffs. She still hoped that they could fix this before she had to be home for dinner the next day. After she hung up, the linked pair said their goodbyes to the bemused Watcher and left the library.

Thinking about what the Mage had whispered to him, Giles murmured quietly, "I hope all the children's friendships will survive this."

* * *

A/N: Next…Meeting the Osbournes.


	4. Chapter 4: The Osbourne Family

**Chapter 4: The Osbourne Family**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #2789: '_"I'm looking over a four leaf clover" _Challenge' by halfbloodpuffskin and #2886: 'Handcuffs of love...' by Methos. This is for the 'Hug a Donor' challenge. Thought I'd mix two together.

A/N: Since I don't know what Oz's parents' names/occupations are, I made them up.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

**Osbourne home **

"Oz," a brunette woman greeted as Buffy and Oz walked in.

"Mom. Dad."

His dad looked at them, his eyebrow raising when he saw the handcuffs. "Hey, son. What's the deal with the handcuffs? Is this one of those supernatural things that's always happening to you and your friends, or is there something we need to sit down and discuss?" he rattled off questions speedily.

Buffy's own eyes widened in shock. "Wow. I didn't think it was possible for anyone to talk faster than Willow."

Oz's dad grinned. "I'm an auctioneer. So if you know Willow, that would make you Buffy, right? And that would make this a supernatural thing, not a bondage sex thing," he said, clearly guessing.

Taking in Buffy's blush, Oz's mom slapped her husband's shoulder gently. "Dear, you may want to keep some thoughts to yourself when there's a young lady present."

He looked chagrinned at his mistake. "Oh, sorry. By the way, I'm Michael Osbourne, but you can call me Mike. This is my lovely wife, Cheryl."

Buffy shook their offered hands, a little stunned they knew about her. But how much did they know? "Nice to meet you both. Yeah, I'm Buffy…Buffy Summers. How exactly do you know about the supernatural, and what exactly do you know?"

Knowing what concerned her, Oz tried to reassure her, "After Jordy bit me and I turned, I thought they needed to know – for their own safety. We have a cage set up in the basement for me to use if I can't get to the library. They also have a tranq gun…just in case. Well, that led to talking about the other stuff that goes on here in Sunnydale. They know that our group tries to protect those that don't realize what's happening around them."

"Wow, talking…and you; it just doesn't fit the image in my head," the young blonde teased with a smile.

Cheryl liked this girl; she had spunk. "Yeah, he takes after me. His father, heaven help us, talks enough for all of us," she mock-complained to the younger woman. The glint in her eyes gave it away that she wasn't all that upset. Buffy just giggled in response.

"Now, what's the deal with these handcuffs?" Mike asked, trying to get back on topic.

Leaning over to her friend, Buffy whispered, "Do they know about me?"

Oz shook his head. "Not what you're thinking. That's your secret to tell. I just told them that you fight the bad guys."

The family was surprised at the bright smile she gave him. "Thanks, Oz. I assume that we can trust them?" Oz nodded. "Okay, this will be easier to explain since we aren't starting from scratch. You already know about demons, but the part Oz left out was that there is somebody supernaturally gifted to fight them…the Slayer." Buffy went on to recite the spiel about Slayers and Watchers.

Mike scratched his chin in wonder at her tale. "And you've been doing this since you were 15?"

"Uh-huh," Buffy confirmed.

Cheryl surprised the Slayer by coming over to wrap her up in a tight embrace. When she pulled back, she said, "I, for one, am proud of Danny for helping you – even if I wished that you all could remain children for a bit longer."

"Danny?"

"My nickname – short for Daniel. Mom's the only one to call me that." Oz looked back at his parents. "So we're thinking that somebody wants to handicap Buffy for a little bit without actually killing her; that's how we ended up getting cuffed together."

Nodding, Mike inquired, "You can't break or pick the cuffs?"

"Nope," Buffy sighed. "They're magically locked. The only way to open them is for us to figure out how we feel about each other and declare it out loud."

That announcement silenced them for a couple minutes. Finally, Cheryl suggested, "So whoever did this to you must think you care about each other romantically…or you hate each other. Either possibility would cause a lot of conflict within your group."

"Huh, hadn't considered that." Oz wasn't really shocked that his mom came up with that; she was good at interpersonal dealings.

Buffy started nodding in agreement. "Alright, that idea makes some sense. But why would anyone think Oz and I would feel either of those two things?"

"I can't say I understand what it's like for either of you, but could it be possible that they were counting on the idea that you are both basically predators?" Mike asked.

Oz's eyes narrowed. He knew his parents weren't like that hunter, Cain; they loved him despite his affliction. "What do you mean, Dad?"

Remembering a documentary he had seen years ago, Mike explained, "You put two predators in the same confined area and they'll fight for dominance."

"Or in the case of a male/female confrontation, they'll-- uh, sorry for my bluntness, but they'll mate," Cheryl ended helplessly. She usually was better at keeping these thoughts to herself. This idea threw her though. It wasn't that long ago that her son had gotten his heart broken by Willow…who just happened to be Buffy's best friend.

"Mate…as in--" Buffy broke off into hysterical laughter, clearly unnerved at the idea of mating with her friend – who just happened to be her best friend's ex.

Oz looked at Buffy with concern. "Thanks, Mom and Dad. I think I need to talk to Buffy alone now."

As they watched Oz lead Buffy away, Cheryl called after them, "Sorry, just trying to help."

Her son gave her a grateful smile, letting her know he wasn't angry with her. "I know, and you probably did. Chances are that's what they were hoping for. One of those two scenarios."

**Oz's room**

Once they got in his room, Oz let himself be dragged behind her while Buffy paced – staying as far away from his bed as possible. "Buffy? You okay?"

"We're supposed to kill each other or _mate_?!" she hissed.

Oz held up his hands placatingly. "We don't know that for sure. Who knows what the person or demon was thinking – or even if they were right in their assumptions."

"But the cuffs didn't come off earlier when we said how we felt!" Buffy felt the need to remind him.

He sighed, sitting down on the edge of his bed and gesturing her to join him. She warily looked at him, then the bed, as if she were expecting some kind of trap. But she eventually sat down. "You know, I've been thinking about that. Maybe it didn't work because we don't really know each other well enough to say those things. Think about it, we never really talked just the two of us. Whatever we knew, we learned from Willow. Now I'm not saying that she lied or purposely kept things from us, but we never got a chance to connect directly."

Buffy rolled around that possibility in her head. It made sense; after all, she didn't even know his first name was Daniel. "So it might not be a kill or mate situation after all?"

"Maybe. But how would you feel if it was?" Oz knew he shouldn't be bringing it up again, but the perverse part of him wanted to know.

"Well, there's no way I'd ever be able to kill you; maybe not even if it was between living and dying." She took a deep breath, then continued, "Then again, maybe the Slayer part of me wouldn't let me stop from defending myself. I just can't forget that you are there – even when the werewolf overtakes you."

Deciding to throw caution to the wind, Oz took her hand in his, trying to get her to look him in the eye. When she did, he said, "I wouldn't want you to allow me to hurt innocent people either. I would rather you killed the werewolf-me than let me become a murderer. I know I can't speak for myself when it comes to that side of me. Chances are it probably would kill you. What about the other possibility?" he pressed.

"The mating thing?" She sighed again. "I don't know. It's just so complicated. I mean, if you weren't Willow's ex, I probably wouldn't feel as conflicted about it. But you are, and breaking the girlfriend's code by going after you… I just don't know that I want to be that girl."

"So it isn't a matter of disgust at being with someone with my condition?" Oz asked, revealing one of his greatest fears since becoming a werewolf.

Buffy glared at him like he was crazy. "Sheesh, you make it sound like you have leprosy or something. Granted, I don't think I'd want to get groiny with the furry-you, but this-you… you know, you're cute and everything. And it's not like my last love interest was exactly normal."

"I appreciate that. You aren't repulsive either," he teased, bumping his shoulder.

She bumped him back. "Gee, thanks for the high compliment. Before we get all mushy with these sweet words, how 'bout if we try that talking thing you mentioned earlier. You know, actually get to know each other."

Oz nodded in agreement. "Alright. Should we get something to eat? Isn't a slumber party without the food."

"Is that what this is? Are we gonna do each other's hair and make-up, too?" Buffy asked playfully. This was kind of fun; something she didn't picture when she thought about the stoic guy next to her – which admittedly wasn't often.

"I wouldn't mind doing the nails, but I'll pass on the blush and mascara," he shot back.

"Really? I can do your nails?"

Suddenly worried about the gleam in her eyes, Oz quickly added, "As long as I get to pick the color."

Buffy bounced up and down on the bed. "Yay!"

Oz chuckled at the abrupt change in attitude from just minutes ago. "What do you want to eat?"

"Probably something I can eat with one hand. Umm, how about pizza?" she suggested.

"I'm always good with pizza. Let's just tell my folks, and we'll get to talking."

**A little later…**

Buffy took a sip of her soda, then continued her story, "…and this guy – who I thought was only dressed as a demon at the time – said he liked my song, but he had something very important to tell me. He said that in order to stay safe, I needed a way to make people underestimate me. The best way to do that was to embrace the 'valley girl' persona as much as I could. From that point on, I stopped thinking about machines and books, and started worrying about clothes and make up."

"And you were 10? Man, at that age, I was just coming up with different colors to dye my hair," Oz admitted, a little surprised that she was more than just the ditzy blonde she pretended to be. Although, when he thought about it, it made sense that she would need to be. A dumb Slayer is a dead Slayer.

That admission caused her to start laughing. "You were doing it that far back?"

He looked a little embarrassed, but guessed it was stories like this that they needed to share. The more painful ones could come later – if necessary. "Yeah, it kinda started out as an accident. You know that goo stuff? Well, I was trying to make some of my own, but instead of using food coloring, I used some of the dye my mom uses on her jeans. Long story short, the goo got into my hair and suddenly I have purple hair."

"What happened when your folks found out?" Buffy asked between giggles.

"They suggested that I turn it into some kind of experiment. Try out different colors and see what people thought of each of them," Oz said with fond remembrance. "Funny thing is, if it hadn't been for that, I don't think Devon would have ever asked me to join the Dingoes. He assumed that since I was 'wild' enough to do that, I'd be a cool addition to the band. You done?" he asked, pointing to the pizza box.

She nodded, then surprised them both by yawning. "Yup. Wow, guess all this sharing has wiped me out." Buffy studied Oz's dry nails with admiration. "You know, I think the navy blue looks good on you. Brings out your eyes."

"Thanks." All of a sudden, Oz felt awkward with Buffy sitting on his bed. For the first time since 'The Incident', he went more than an hour without thinking of Willow – either in anger or longing. Was this what the Mage had been talking about? Shaking off the feelings, Oz stood up. "Maybe we should get some sleep. We can talk more in the morning."

Buffy had felt the shift in the air between them as well, but knew she needed to sleep on it before talking to Oz. "Okay."

After taking care of their bedtime routines, they stood next to Oz's bed…just staring at it. Each was wondering how best to situate themselves with the least chance of awkwardness. Hesitantly, Buffy suggested, "How 'bout this? If you sleep on your right side, I can sleep behind you and drape my arm over you?"

He cleared his throat, then nodded. "Sounds good."

They laid there stiffly for a long time before their exhaustion overtook them. However, their unconscious minds had no problem with propelling them to slide in closer to one another.

* * *

A/N: Next…The morning after.


	5. Chapter 5: In the Morning Light

**Chapter 5: In the Morning Light**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way. Watch out for mentions of a semi-sexual nature.

Challenge: #2789: '_"I'm looking over a four leaf clover" _Challenge' by halfbloodpuffskin and #2886: 'Handcuffs of love...' by Methos. This is for the 'Hug a Donor' challenge. Thought I'd mix two together.

A/N: Okay, as it seems to happen much too often to my stories, this developing into a longer fic than I intended…wordwise. Can't always guarantee the chapters will be this length, though.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

**The next morning…**

The sun was just beginning to peek through the curtains when Mike knocked on Oz's door and called out, "Hey, sleepyheads. Time to get up! Cheryl's making French toast for breakfast."

Buffy opened one eye in confusion as to her whereabouts. After quickly taking in her situation, she pulled back from her place – which currently was plastered so closely to Oz that they couldn't slide a strand of hair between them. "Hey, Oz. Uh, sorry for crowding you," she apologized with a blush.

He just gave her a reassuring grin in return. "It's okay. Perfectly understandable. Not like we can really sleep on opposite sides of the bed or anything."

As they crawled out of bed, their cuffed hands brushed against a part of Oz's body that was ultra-sensitive at the moment. The second Buffy's hand came in contact with it, Oz growled softly.

"What is it? Did I hurt you or something?" Buffy asked, worried about what she could have done to him.

Despite his words, Oz's voice did sound pained. "Not exactly."

"What then?" she demanded, wondering why he wouldn't look at her – or even turn around.

"It's a guy thing, Buffy. A lot of times when a guy wakes up in the morning, part of his body--" Oz stammered, trying to come up with a way to explain without being graphic.

Which Buffy took care of with her blunt statement. "Oh, the piss hardon thing."

Oz choked…mostly at the bland way she said it. "Whoa, where did you hear about that? And why aren't you more embarrassed to mention it out loud?"

She just scoffed in reply. "You think I was in a nice, clean place last summer? Guys that I waited on talked about all kinds of things. The more aggressive ones offered me money to help with their problems. Didn't occur to the geniuses that they'd have to come to the diner like that for it to happen – which I would never do!" she stated adamantly.

His expression turned thoughtful, and he decided there was no point in shielding himself from her sight now. "Guess I didn't really consider what you did. We were more focused on what was happening here."

Buffy shrugged. "I get it. We never talked about it – aside from the Belgium and farm comments from Xander and the living in a box comment from Cordy."

"You weren't though, right? I mean, living in a box?" Oz asked, belatedly worried about all that had happed to her while she was gone.

"Nah. I had an apartment with four walls, ceiling and door. Not exactly a rathole, but still better than a box," she said with a smile. The only problem was, he could tell she was hiding some pain at the memories.

Rather than pushing her now, Oz decided to tease her, "Even if it was a rathole, you might have felt at home there – what with being turned into a rat by Amy last year."

Buffy pushed him towards the bathroom. "Very funny, wolfman. Not to make things more uncomfortable for us, but I'm feeling kinda grimy. Like in need of cleaning sorta thing?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," he agreed. "Darn our culture and it's obsessive need to bathe every day. How do you want to handle this?"

She shrugged somewhat helplessly; this wasn't a situation Slayers normally dealt with…was it? "Not sure. We also have the problem of what clothes are we gonna wear?"

Once they had taken care of their morning issues and washed their hands, Oz suggested, "Let's just go eat breakfast for now, and we can discuss that problem over a stack. My mom's a terrific cook…when it comes to breakfast foods," he added on after a second.

Raising an eyebrow at the addition, Buffy had to ask, "Only breakfast foods? What do you do for lunch and dinner?"

"Sometimes we have pancakes for dinner; other times Dad or I cook." Oz thought he knew what she was asking, though, and explained, "She was a short order cook at a breakfast place after high school. Those were the only things she learned to make. Dad thought it was cute and never pushed her to learn other meals, saying he liked cooking."

His answer was the right one to ease any tension since Buffy gave him one of her brilliant smiles. Huh, they were quite the thing to have directed solely at you. He blinked a little from the feelings it generated.

"You have very unusual parents, Oz," she said with a slight shake of her head.

**Kitchen**

"Smells great, Mom," Oz remarked, coming up from behind her to give her a kiss on the cheek. Then he and Buffy sat down with his dad at the table.

Where the elder Osbourne male was already eating. "Tastes even better!" Mike announced between bites.

Without looking, Cheryl chided him, "You were supposed to wait for the kids, hun."

Mike gave her a puppy dog look when she turned around. "I just couldn't help myself, dearest. You know I love your French toast."

His bemused wife just smiled and shook her head. Then she took in Oz and Buffy's cuffed existence. "Still no luck getting the cuffs off?" Cheryl asked.

"None," Oz confirmed after swallowing.

Cheryl's expression was half-sympathetic and half-relieved. "Then I guess my efforts won't be wasted."

Tearing herself away from the food for a minute, Buffy asked. "What do you mean?" Now she could see why the Osbourne men didn't push her to learn other food. Why mess with somebody who could make French toast this heavenly?

"I figured you would need to change your shirts." Cheryl reached back towards the counter and pulled some clothes off to show them. "Now, they aren't exactly stylish, but it's the best I could do on such short notice. At least they'll keep you covered."

Taking the small pile she handed him, Oz smiled warmly at her. "Thanks, Mom. Shoulda known you'd come up with something."

The Osbourne matriarch continued on after acknowledging her son's gratitude, "I put snaps on Oz's and ties on Buffy's. You'll have to step into them and pull them up. Since it's colder outside, you may want to wear a shawl, Buffy."

Buffy was astonished, to say the very least. Oz's parents were incredible; with their easy acceptance of the supernatural, helping them with their problem, the obvious way they loved each other… "This is amazing. Thank you so much! I don't suppose you were able to come up with any great ideas for how we can shower like this?"

"There's always the obvious way…" Mike trailed off when he saw the two teens blushing. "But I'm guessing you mean a way so you don't have to see each other naked."

Oz rolled his eyes, a first for Buffy to witness. He was like a regular teen when he was at home…almost. "Yeah, Dad." See, most kids would have snarked that response, but he just stated it.

"Well, when I broke my leg in college, I had to give myself sponge baths for a while. Not as good as a shower, but you can still get relatively clean," Mike offered.

After giving it some consideration, Cheryl put in, "Another way could be for one of you to stay outside the curtain while the other one showers. Guess you just have to decide what's more important: modesty or cleanliness."

**Oz's room**

They had finished breakfast, and Cheryl's face was currently as bright as her husband's hair from embarrassment over Buffy's praise. Not that her family didn't thank her, just Buffy was so profuse with hers.

"So what's your vote? Shower or sponges?" Buffy asked as they took their altered clothes back to the bedroom. Cheryl had made them each two shirts to start with.

Oz shrugged. "Whichever you're more comfortable with."

The Slayer bit her lip out of nerves. "Well, I'm not exactly more comfortable with a shower, but I feel grimy enough to need one."

"So. Separate or together?" Oz inquired, deciding to tease her.

Buffy's eyes widened, then she started giggling. When she finally got control of herself, she gasped, "I can't believe you asked that!"

"Hey, we've already gone to the bathroom together several times, talked about morning hardons, and discussed the possibility of 'mating'. I don't think there are many taboos left for us," Oz pointed out logically.

"Except our respective times of the month," Buffy pointed right back.

He nodded. "Let's hope this is done with before either of those come up. I know when mine is, and yours won't be for a while, right?"

Putting down the shirt she chose not to wear today, Buffy whipped her head to look at Oz. "How did you know?"

Cursing himself for not keeping his mouth shut, Oz considered whether he should tell the truth. He figured that maybe it was necessary for the spell to be released that Buffy knew him…even better than Willow ever did. "Drawback slash perk of being a werewolf: extra sensitive sniffer. The other part is staying aware of when it's gonna happen so I can make things easier for my wolf," he said as nonchalantly as possible. Inside he was quivering from anxiety that she would be disgusted and tell all the others. Then none of them would ever look at him the same way again.

Buffy must have sensed his worry though. She thought about what it cost him to reveal this to her; something he probably hadn't told many – if any – people. Then she decided that it would be kinda hypocritical of her to get freaked out over it. After all, there were Slayer things that only Giles knew about her. "What do you mean?" she asked with a compassionate tone.

Once again, Oz was surprised by Buffy. She was proving to be much deeper than he used to think. "See, having a girl watch me at the wrong part of her cycle does things to my wolf's libido. That's why I ask one of the guys to watch me then."

Remembering the few times Oz had done just that, Buffy almost smiled at the realization of why he did it. But something was off. "You can tell what it does to the wolf?"

Oz sighed before admitting, "It affects my libido too."

Buffy let out a low whistle. This werewolf thing was a lot harder than she knew. His self control must be incredible! "Wow. So then, why don't you have to go away for those three days? I mean, with all the females around town, I would think there'd always be at least a few that would affect you."

And this was the final hurdle he needed to clear for this topic. He started studying the patterns of the wood flooring in his room, trying to keep from seeing her eyes as he told her, "It's just the girls that my wolf or I are attracted to. And there aren't many of those around. Willow appealed to human-me, Faith appeals to wolf-me…"

"And me?" Buffy guessed. Or maybe hoped? She was surprised at how much she hoped he was attracted to her.

"In the interests of full honesty – and keeping in mind that I would never have said this while dating Willow – I will admit that both sides of me are drawn to you. Before it was just a little, but now that we've talked and gotten to know each other better, the attraction is growing stronger," Oz admitted, a shy smile gracing his features.

Which Buffy returned before getting worried for him. "So is this going to be uncomfortable for you if we take showers? Should we do the sponge baths instead?"

Oz shook his head, not quite willing to admit that he thought the sponge baths would be torturous for him. That sounded far too erotic to his hormonal teenage mind. "It's not going to be a problem. I can control my impulses. But if it makes you uncomfortable, we'll do whatever you want."

She ran the fingers on her right hand through her hair, trying to come to grips with everything. "Whew. This is just a lot to take in right now. Can you explain why the three of us and not say, Cordy?" she asked after realizing something else.

"Like Dad said last night, you and Faith appeal to the predator of the wolf side. You'd be strong mates for him. You and Willow appeal to the human side 'cause you're caring and interesting." His expression turned a little sad then. "Or at least Willow used to appeal to me. Cordy, while attractive, isn't strong enough for the wolf or soft enough for the human."

Buffy jumped to what she thought was the obvious conclusion. "Okay, so you knew that you already had thoughts about us?" she inquired, pointing to the two of them.

Oz shook his head. "Not consciously. Not more than just wanting to be sure that I was careful around you three during my wolf time. Last night I gave it conscious thought and this is what I came up with."

It was Buffy's turn to become shy. "I'm very flattered that you think that way about me."

He almost groaned seeing how adorable she looked just then. His shower might need to be a cold one.

* * *

A/N: Next…brief intermission.


	6. Chapter 6: Unexpected Interlude

**Chapter 6: Unexpected Interlude**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #2789: '_"I'm looking over a four leaf clover" _Challenge' by halfbloodpuffskin and #2886: 'Handcuffs of love...' by Methos. This is for the 'Hug a Donor' challenge. Thought I'd mix two together.

A/N: Musie insisted that I write about Willow and Xander during this time.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

**Rosenberg house**

It took Willow a few hours to calm Xander down enough to talk to him. That and a box of Twinkies. When he finally could talk, she asked, "So what's the deal that I had to come to the school and keep you with me all night?"

His eyes flickered with fear, but mostly at how she was going to react. "Okay…now don't freak out on me, Wills. Apparently somebody got into my head and made me do something. Giles just wants to make sure that's all I did. So if I act strangely or sorta zone out, you need to let him know right away."

"What did you do?" she demanded.

Xander took a deep breath then rushed his answer, "I kinda, sorta, handcuffedBuffyandOztogether."

Didn't matter to the queen of babble though. Willow had no trouble deciphering what he said. "You what?!" she all but screeched.

"Apparently I walked up to them and handcuffed their left hands," he explained with a sheepish expression.

"Why?"

The stress got to Xander, and he snapped, "How should I know? It's not like it was my idea!"

Willow's lower lip started trembling. "So you're saying that my best friend and my boyfriend are locked together? And they're alone?!"

"Well, ex-boyfriend, and they were with Giles when I left them," Xander clarified.

She ignored the comment about 'ex' to remind her childhood friend, "No, Giles was alone with you when I came."

Xander sighed; this was about as bad as he expected it to be. "Okay, so they were in the little werewolf's room at that exact time, but otherwise they were with Giles."

Her pout was back in full force. "So Buffy has seen parts of my boyfriend that I haven't gotten to."

Now he was starting to get annoyed with her. She was getting fixated on the wrong thing. "Again, he's your _ex_-boyfriend. I wouldn't worry about what she's seen or not seen; she had a blindfold and earplugs to minimize her knowledge of what he did in the bathroom."

"He's not an ex! We're just working things out right now," she insisted, conveniently forgetting Oz's words to her just days ago. She gestured to him, then her as she went on, "I know we made a mistake or two, but Oz and I can get past it. I know we can!"

Except Xander felt he had to remind her, "Uh, didn't he say he couldn't be with you?"

"And that's what we were working out! I know I can convince him to forgive me." Her expression turned grim. "But I have to keep him from falling for Buffy for that to happen."

Xander rolled his eyes. "You make it sound like she lures all men into her web."

"Well, she got you and Angel – a vampire, for goodness sake! They're like the natural enemies of the Slayer. And he was trying to help her!" she reminded Xander.

Who held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, you're preaching to the choir on how wrong that relationship was. Course, in my mind, it was more of how could Buffy like something that she was supposed to kill?" he commented with an edge of bitterness.

Willow remembered something she learned and realized that maybe she hadn't told Xander about it. "It's the soul. She can't kill things with human souls. I read it in one of the old Watchers' Diaries. If a Slayer kills a human – or in Angel's case, something with a human soul – they run the high risk of turning dark…possibly evil."

He shrugged. "Well, she killed Angel last spring and she's okay."

"Extenuating circumstances," Willow quickly interjected. It was either him or the world. And I wouldn't exactly say she's okay; she just isn't evil. Besides, I said it was only a risk that she would. Guess there's a loophole for world save-age."

Remembering the loophole that gave them Angelus, Xander shuddered. "For once I like the loophole. Wouldn't want to deal with evil-Buffy," he declared.

Willow agreed, "Me neither. I also don't want to deal with boyfriend-stealing-Buffy."

Knowing she was going to be like a dog with a bone until she got some answers, Xander suggested, "Look, why don't you call her and see if they are free yet. Giles said the cuffs could be magically locked; he might have figured out how to take care of it by now."

"Good idea! I'll call her house."

When Willow hung up the phone, Xander saw the distressed look on her face. "So what's the sitch?" he inquired.

"Buffy isn't home. She told her mom she was staying over at Oz's house. _At Oz's house! I haven't stayed over at his house!!!_" she screamed.

Xander put his hand on her shoulder to force her to sit down. "Chill, Willow. They have to sleep somewhere, and I doubt that Mrs. S would be too excited about them sleeping together at her place. They probably picked his house 'cause his folks wouldn't get as worked up about it."

Again, she focused on only one part of his statement. "They're sleeping together."

He fought the urge to shake some sense into her. "Not like that! Until they get the cuffs off, they have to sleep _near_ each other. That doesn't mean they're gonna have sex, though."

"But I've never slept near him…except for in the hospital, but that doesn't count 'cause we weren't alone and I was hurt and everything else that was happening," Willow babbled.

Xander knew he needed to remind her, "And this doesn't count either because they aren't doing this out of choice."

"I still don't like it. I am _so_ gonna talk to her tomorrow," she announced with a determined look.

"Just remember it isn't her fault; it's the person whoever made me cuff them together's fault."

* * *

A/N: Next…Dinner with Joyce.


	7. Chapter 7: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

**Chapter 7: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #2789: '_"I'm looking over a four leaf clover" _Challenge' by halfbloodpuffskin and #2886: 'Handcuffs of love...' by Methos. This is for the 'Hug a Donor' challenge. Thought I'd mix two together.

A/N: I swore I would never do it, but Musie disagreed with me on a possible pairing mentioned in this chapter.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

**Summers home**

**Dinnertime, Thanksgiving Day…**

Buffy didn't see her mom when they came in, but she smelled something delicious in the air so she called out, "Hey, Mom! Sorry I'm so late; we've been working on that problem and lost track of time."

From the kitchen, Joyce answered, sounding somewhat distracted, "Did you figure it out?"

"Nope. Which brings me to the next thing: Oz is here to join us for dinner. Hope you don't mind," Buffy said, wincing as she prepared to walk into the kitchen. Oz shrugged when she looked at him, not sure how to help her.

When they finally made it to the kitchen, Joyce had her back to them, busy with last minute dinner preparations. "It's fine with me, but what about his folks? Oh, before I forget, Willow called here looking for you last night. Didn't she know about this?"

Giving Oz a sympathetic smile, Buffy said, "Well, she probably does now. She and Oz broke up a couple days ago, so it's just me, Giles and Oz for this one."

"I'm sorry to hear that. So what--" Joyce pulled the rolls out of the oven and set them on the counter, then looked up at her daughter. "Why are you two handcuffed together?!" she shouted.

Oz simply waved with his free hand. "Hello, Mrs. Summers."

"This is the problem. Somebody brainwashed Xander into cuffing us with magical cuffs. I can't break them and we can't pick them. Giles talked to a guy who looked at them; there's a spell that Oz and I have to break," Buffy explained.

Her daughter's life was so strange. Joyce ran a hand over her face, rubbing her eyes for some reason. "Well, how do you break it?"

Buffy's expression looked chagrinned. "By telling each other how we feel… Except when we tried, it didn't work. Giles' guy said something about us 'discovering' our feelings first."

"So you're supposed to be in love?" Joyce guessed in disbelief.

"Not necessarily," Oz answered before Buffy could.

"Oz thinks that it's possible that we don't know each other well enough to really _have_ feelings. So we spent several hours last night and today talking…about frivolous things, our childhoods, our dreams. That kind of stuff." Buffy realized that other than the whole handcuff thing, the last 18 hours with Oz had been the best since she came to Sunnydale – certainly since she came home after last summer.

"So if you're stuck together, how have you managed to eat, dress, sleep…_shower_?" Joyce stressed pointedly.

Oz spoke up first again, "My mom made us some shirts that we don't need to get our left arm in."

Deciding to avoid the subject her mom was asking about, Buffy handled the easy stuff first. "Eating really isn't that bad so far. We've managed to coordinate our efforts for stuff like that and walking. The bathroom stuff…well, the first few times we wore blindfolds and earplugs, but our hearing is so good that we had to switch to headphones turned up loud." That was a particularly brilliant move on Oz's part.

Joyce wasn't about to be deterred though. "And the showers?" she pressed.

Seeing that Buffy didn't want to reply, Oz did, "We took turns. I stayed outside the curtain while she showered, and then we reversed."

One problem done; one to go. "What about sleeping?"

"I slept behind him." Buffy knew the best way for them to sleep from the crap those guys yapped on about the previous summer. She also knew that waking up with Oz behind her would make their awkward situation even worse. That's why she suggested the set up.

But apparently that wasn't good enough for her mother. "On the same bed?"

Both Buffy and Oz's faces wrinkled in confusion. How else would they have slept? "Uh, yeah."

Joyce took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. "I want you to stay here tonight," she ordered.

Nodding slowly, Buffy asked, "Okay, why?"

"I just want to make sure that nothing happens. Parents of boys aren't usually as strict as parents of girls," Joyce explained before they could ask what she meant.

"That's probably true in most cases," Oz agreed. "They'll want us to come over for dessert later, though."

Buffy saw the glint in her mom's eyes. It looked remarkably similar to when she would get in trouble at school and her mom wanted to discuss it. "Oz, can you put the headphones on while I talk to my mom?" She waited until they heard the music playing before she asked, "What exactly do you think happened?"

Choosing her words carefully so it didn't sound judgmental, Joyce said, "It's not that anything necessarily happened last night. I just want to be sure it doesn't happen tonight – or any night until those cuffs come off."

"Sheesh, Mom. You act like we're using the cuffs as some kind of kinky sex prop! What kind of people do you think we are?" Buffy asked, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, normal people use them, too!" Joyce blurted without thinking.

"Eww, how do you know that?" Buffy's eyes grew wide in horror as she put 2 and 2 together. "Oh my god! That's why you had the cuffs when we found Ethan that night? You and Giles?! Ugh, I sooo need an industrial-sized vat of mental bleach!" she muttered, shuddering profusely.

Oz felt her movements and pulled the headphones off to ask, "Everything okay?"

"Not even! I learned way too much about my mom." After Oz put the headphones back on, Buffy demanded, "Are you two together?"

"No, it was just the candy," Joyce quickly attempted to reassure her daughter.

Except she was surprised by the angry look Buffy gave her. "Why? What's wrong with Giles? He's nice, smart, kinda handsome – in an older guy sorta way. You could do a lot worse than him."

Joyce was getting a headache from everything. She couldn't keep up with Buffy's moods. "I'm sorry, weren't you just 'Eww'-ing at the thought of us together?"

"Well, _yeah_! That's when we were talking about _sex_," Buffy clarified. "As long as I don't have to think about you two like that, I'm happy Cleopatra girl. Parents aren't supposed to have sex lives."

"You honestly would be okay with the two of us dating?" Wow, Joyce hadn't considered pursuing a relationship with him. "What about your father?" she asked, just to double-check.

Buffy smirked, then deadpanned, "I don't think he's Giles' type, but I could be wrong." They both giggled. "Giles has been more of a dad to me since we moved here than Dad. Don't all kids want their parents together?"

Shaking her head, Joyce asked, "How does Mr. Giles feel about this?" Then she felt like a high schooler herself, wanting to know what the cute boy in Trig said about her.

"I think after what you two did, you can call him Giles – or maybe Rupert," Buffy couldn't help but tease. "How should I know? I didn't even know you two got groiny. Talk to him. And if he feels uncomfortable because of me, just let him know I'm okay with it. Just remember that he won't let any relationship with you interfere with his duties as my Watcher. That means you can't manipulate him into letting me slack on _my_ duties."

"Wow. I'm astonished that you would encourage this." Especially after that fiasco the previous year with Ted – although Buffy happened to be right about that psycho. How did he come back to life? Huh, something to ask Buffy about; maybe it was Slayer-related.

Buffy took her mom's hand so she could answer her seriously, "You both deserve to be happy."

"Well, thank you, sweetie." Joyce narrowed her eyes. "Don't think this means I'm okay with you sleeping with Willow's ex-boyfriend."

Scoffing, Buffy shot back, "It's not exactly our first choice either."

Joyce hoped her daughter would be as grown-up about what she said next as she was about Rupert. "I have some stipulations about it though."

Instantly wary, Buffy asked, "Like what?"

"You are fully clothed, and one of you will sleep above the covers while the other one is below them." And anything else she thought of between now and bedtime.

Buffy nodded. "Okay, sounds reasonable. I was worried you'd put me in a plastic bubble or something."

Her turn to tease, Joyce inquired, "Know where I can get one before bedtime?"

"Ha, ha. Very funny, Mom." Buffy nudged Oz to signal he could listen again.

After helping clear the table and load the dishwasher, Oz dried his hands. "Thanks for a delicious meal, Mrs. Summers."

Back in the entryway, Buffy grabbed the shawl she took from Oz's mom earlier. "Yeah. Very nummy. Faith is handling patrol until this is resolved – for obvious reasons. We'll have dessert with Oz's folks then come back before too late. We'll call if something comes up," she promised, kissing her mom on the cheek.

* * *

A/N: Next…Something comes up.


	8. Chapter 8: Attack of the Demons

**Chapter 8: Attack of the Demons**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way. **You may need a tissue.**

Challenge: #2789: '_"I'm looking over a four leaf clover" _Challenge' by halfbloodpuffskin and #2886: 'Handcuffs of love...' by Methos. This is for the 'Hug a Donor' challenge. Thought I'd mix two together.

A/N: Canon change coming up. You'll see what it is very early on. The explanation for it will come in the next chapter.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

**Streets of Sunnydale**

Dessert with the Osbournes went very well; Cheryl had made them a couple more tops – in case it took longer than a few days to clear up the problem. Mike came up with a suggestion to get them out of school if necessary. Oz and Buffy would intern at his auction house for school credit. He already talked to the social studies teacher about giving them the time off. Seems as though the teacher was a racquetball competitor of Mike's.

They were on their way back to Buffy's home when they saw a couple fugly demons with points on their heads that looked almost like horns. Other 'charming' characteristics were the lack of mouths and pocked skin. Both young adults were grateful they had already eaten a while ago because seeing these revolting beasts surely would have made them lose their appetites.

Worried about what damage they could cause, Buffy reached into her boots to pull out a pair of daggers her mom bought her as a peace offering for reacting so bad the previous spring. They went to LA for a mother/daughter weapons shopping trip. They didn't buy much, but Buffy appreciated the thought.

Especially the thought of the Scottish dirks in her hands right now. The braided grip and intricate crosses etched into the blade on either side. This would be their test run on patrol. She hadn't gotten a chance to use them before. Sparing a quick glance at them, she handed one to Oz. "Be careful, okay? Try to let me handle fighting if you can."

He shrugged. "Fine with me."

As the pair approached the demons, the creatures split up so one was in front and the other behind them. Without saying a word, Oz turned to a 90% angle so he could keep an eye on the one Buffy was fighting, as well as the other one. Since he wasn't actively fighting, Oz could see slight differences in the two demons. Buffy's had single, pointed 'ears' while the one in back had a row of five points on either side of its head. That one was keeping his distance for the time being, wary of Oz waving the dagger at him. Maybe it could tell there was something not-quite-human about Oz.

All that changed when Buffy drove her dagger into the heart of the single pointed demon. The five pointed demon threw back its head in what looked like a soundless howl of anger…grief? Then it raced towards them, maybe hoping to catch Buffy while her back was turned. Forgetting about Oz was its downfall because when it got close enough, Oz swung his dagger instinctively into the creature's chest, killing it instantly.

She looked at her blade and hand, bending down to wipe them in the grass. "Okay, glowy blood is gross. Let's head over to Giles' so we can tell him about these baddies right away. Besides, I forgot to bring him his Thanksgiving Day treat, and maybe we can talk him into coming back to the house with us."

Oz followed her actions, getting most of the blood off, just like she did. "Alright. By the way, you _do_ know that the English don't celebrate Thanksgiving, right?"

"Yeah, but it's about feeling grateful for things and people in your life, and Giles is one of those people to me," Buffy attempted to sound casual about it.

But somehow Oz was able to guess her true motivation, "And you want to make up for hiding Angel?"

He was surprised at the quiver in Buffy's voice. "He was so hurt and disappointed. I preferred Xander's anger over Giles' hurt. That felt like a punch in the gut…from something really big and strong. I was hoping that looking up a traditional English treat and making it for Giles would show him that I do care about him."

"That's very sweet of you; I'm sure he'll appreciate it," Oz said as he gave her a hug from behind.

She leaned back into him, grateful for the support. "But will he forgive me?"

"I bet he already has," he assured her. "But maybe the two of you should actually sit down and talk about everything from last year – get things out in the open."

"Wow, never thought I'd hear you advocate talking," she teased, feeling a little better.

"And I never thought I'd hear you use the word 'advocate'," Oz teased back. Then he pushed her towards his van. "C'mon, let's go see Giles."

**Giles' apartment**

Stepping aside to let them in, Giles greeted the young pair, "Hello. I see you haven't had any luck with the handcuffs yet."

"Nope, but we did manage to tag team a pair of ugly demons just now. Thought we'd come over and share the good news," Buffy quipped.

Oz guessed that she wasn't going to bring up the scones without his help. "And invite you over to Buffy's house for a late treat she made especially for you."

"Really? What's that?" Giles asked, turning back from going to the kitchen.

Buffy glared at Oz. "Just some Devon scones with clotted cream and jam. Thought you'd like them with your tea while you were researching or something. It's no big deal." She shrugged, chewing her lip and fighting the tears that sprang up earlier when she talked to Oz.

"I'd say it is. I've had a very difficult time trying to locate a store that sells clotted cream. Wherever did you find one?" Giles inquired.

Trying to downplay it, Buffy quickly answered, "There's some places in LA. When Mom and I went there last Sunday, we got some."

Giles smiled warmly at his Slayer's thoughtfulness. "Well, thank you, Buffy. That's very kind of you."

"Whatever. Just thought you'd like something – even if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving." She hastily changed subjects before she broke down. "So anyway, we should probably describe the big and nasty demons with glowy blood for you, huh?"

Startled by her abrupt behavior, Giles wiped his glasses and moved to his bookcase. "Yes. Yes, of course."

Oz resigned himself to letting Buffy off the hook…for now. It probably would be better if she could talk privately to Giles anyway. "I can sketch them if you'd like. There were a couple differences between them that Buffy might not have noticed since she was so busy fighting."

Grateful to be on safer ground, Buffy gave her cuff buddy the credit he deserved, "Hey, you got one of them, too, Oz."

"With stakes?" Giles inquired, starting to mental run through demons that could be killed with them.

Uncharacteristically impressed, Oz almost gushed – even if it was just with his word and not the tone of his voice, "No, with these really cool daggers Buffy had in her boots."

"Yeah, that was the other reason we went to LA; Mom wanted to take me weapons shopping. I got these Scottish dirks – or at least that's what the guy at the store called them," Buffy explained as she pulled them out for Giles' inspection.

Giles was surprised that Joyce-- Ms. Summers took Buffy shopping for weapons. "May I see them?" He studied the designs carefully. "These are most impressive. I would almost think the creator knew about the supernatural when making them. Did you get any sense the owner of the store was part of our world?"

His Slayer shrugged. "Not really, but I wasn't paying that close of attention."

"Well, weapons such as these need to be well cared for. Why don't you and I clean them while Oz sketches the demons?" Giles offered, wanting to teach Buffy more about weapons maintenance.

**Summers home**

"Oh good, you're home. And Mr. Giles-- Rupert came with you," Joyce corrected herself, having thought about what Buffy said earlier about maybe dating him. At the very least, Buffy was right about them being less formal around each other – with or without that incident with the candy.

Slipping out of the shawl, Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I forgot to take the scones over to him earlier. It's okay, right? We have to talk about a couple demons Oz and I killed on the way from the Osbournes."

Joyce did a fast visual inspection of the children for any injuries. "Are you alright? How did you manage to fight them like that?"

"Actually, Oz took care of one of them. Pretty good job, too. By the way, those daggers we got last weekend worked great!" Buffy beamed brightly, making the trip worth it in Joyce's opinion. Well, that and the fact her daughter was still alive and in one piece.

Still, Joyce was a little uncomfortable with the idea that weapons were now a good gift idea for her child. "Umm, that's wonderful, honey. Forgive my manners, would you like some tea? We can serve some of those scones Buffy made with it."

"That sounds wonderful. Thank you…both," Giles included both Summers women in his comment.

Pointing out where the demon blood had gotten onto his clothing, Oz remarked, choosing his words carefully, "Don't know about Buffy, but I'd like to get changed and cleaned up."

"Oh yeah, that sounds totally of the good. Be right back." Buffy whispered to her mom, "Talk to him."

Joyce took a deep breath to calm the butterflies in her stomach. "Care to join me in the kitchen? We can talk while I get things ready." She started walking that way, seeing that he was following her.

"That's a good idea. I have something to ask you." Giles decided maybe Buffy's mother would have some clue as to her odd behavior at his apartment.

"Really? What?" Joyce almost squeaked, thinking maybe he was going to bring it up first.

Oblivious to the tension, Giles asked, "Is Buffy doing alright? Earlier, when she was telling me about making the scones, she seemed rather upset. Has something happened between her and Oz?"

"They seem to be doing very well – almost too well for my comfort," Joyce muttered.

"It is remarkable to watch them move together so seamlessly." Shaking himself out of the memories of their fluid motions the night before, Giles got back to the matter at hand, "Do you have any idea what might be bothering her?"

She knew that something troubling Buffy – although she didn't know what it was about. Whether it was the same thing Rupert was referring to… "I don't really want to abuse her privacy," Joyce hesitated to say.

"Please. It could be important," Giles implored.

Putting the kettle of water on to boil, Joyce weighed her options. Actually, she had wanted to talk to him about this anyway. "The last few weeks she's been having these nightmares. But they're different from ones she's had before."

Wondering what his Slayer was hiding, Giles gently pried, "How so?"

"For one thing, she's crying out in her sleep. She's only done that a couple times since coming back," Joyce answered, obviously fighting her emotions.

"Can you understand what she's saying?" Seeing her hesitation, Giles pushed, "Please, Joyce."

"She kept screaming out things like, 'No, Giles!' or 'Stop, Angel!' Then she would break down crying, asking over and over again why he came back only to have you two kill each other. Almost every night for weeks; then it changed. There wasn't any screaming anymore, just crying and whimpering. All she said during those nightmares was, 'I'm sorry, Giles. Please don't hate me anymore.'" Joyce grabbed a paper towel to wipe her tears. It was so hard to watch her daughter assume responsibility for everything and not be able to help her. Maybe Rupert could.

Horrified at Joyce's words, Giles almost choked on his emotions. "Oh dear lord! She thinks I hate her?"

"She didn't say anything in the morning, and I tried to talk to her about you. She kept insisting that everything was fine." Joyce finally had her tears under control, and asked, "What happened between you? She was so happy after seeing you that first night she was back."

Ignoring her question for the moment, Giles needed to know something else. "How long have the nightmares been happening?"

Joyce thought back. "The screaming ones started a week or so before Homecoming, and the other ones just within the past week or so."

Giles started thinking aloud, "It's possible that the first nightmares started when Angel returned from hell--"

"What? He's back?!" Joyce interrupted.

Guessing what might be worrying Joyce, Giles quickly assured her, "Yes. We still don't know how or why; just that it's Angel who returned, not Angelus."

"And that's important?"

"Very much so. Angel has a soul; Angelus is simply a vicious monster, determined to destroy Buffy for making Angel too human," Giles explained.

Shuddering at the idea, Joyce pushed it aside for the moment. "What about the other nightmare?"

Giles dropped his head in shame. "It's when we found out that she had been hiding his return from us. I'm afraid we all took it rather badly…me in particular. I said some very harsh things to her. But if these nightmares are any indication of her mental state, I was terribly wrong in my judgments. Pardon me, I need to get some air. I'll just be out on the back porch." He rushed to the door so Joyce wouldn't see the tears threatening to overflow.

A few minutes later, a freshly-scrubbed Buffy and Oz walked into the kitchen. "Hey, Mom. Where's Giles? You didn't scare him off, did you?" she teased.

Oddly fascinated by the tea she was preparing, Joyce said as casually as she could, "Actually we didn't talk about that yet. He asked about something else, and now he's out back thinking."

Buffy was confused. "What?"

Before Joyce could answer, Giles came back in the house, crossing the room to hug Buffy. "It isn't important at the moment, dear girl. We'll talk about it after we take care of this problem."

Despite the warm feeling she got from the hug, Buffy felt it necessary to tease Giles a little, "Okaaay. Who are you, and what have you done with my stuffy Watcher?"

Giving her his patented Giles-glare, he remarked dryly, "Very funny." He ran a finger down her cheek, startling her. "I just realized what I was thankful for, and that is that you are home and safe. I probably don't say it often enough, but I care very much for you."

Buffy saw the sincerity in his eyes and sniffled. She gave him a one-armed hug. "Me, too. I love you, Watcher-mine," she murmured into his chest.

* * *

A/N: Next…What else could happen?


	9. Chapter 9: Adoring a Clover

**Chapter 9: Adoring a Clover**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #2789: '_"I'm looking over a four leaf clover" _Challenge' by halfbloodpuffskin and #2886: 'Handcuffs of love...' by Methos. This is for the 'Hug a Donor' challenge. Thought I'd mix two together.

A/N: Here's where the clover challenge comes in.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

**Summers home**

**Next morning…**

_Buffy's POV_

As her brain slowly raised to consciousness, Buffy heard the strangest song playing. She recognized the lyrics from one of those oldies songs, but the tempo was way slower than she remembered. It sounded almost like a ballad the way it was being sung.

_I'm looking over a four-leaf clover  
That I overlooked before.  
One leaf is sunshine, the second is rain,  
Third is the roses that grow in the lane.  
No need explaining, the one remaining  
Is somebody I adore.  
I'm looking over a four-leaf clover  
That I overlooked before. _

Without realizing what she was doing, Buffy snuggled deeper into her pillow – only to be surprised by the warmth of it. That's when she became aware that during the night, Oz had rolled onto his back. So instead of being curled up into his back, she was basically sprawled across his chest… Well, at least her head and left arm were; her right arm was tucked between their bodies.

'_**Mmm, this is nice. It's so relaxing, just being curled up with Oz. I wonder if Willow ever got to do this? Nah…she couldn't have. If she did, she would have been crazy to do anything to screw it up. Granted, I can't understand what she and Xander were thinking anyway. Even Queen C didn't deserve to be treated like that. **_

'_**But am I any better? Here I am, getting all cozy with Willow's ex – and it's only been a couple days since the break-up. If they get back together, this could be really bad. Focus Buffy, just get out of the cuffs so you won't stand in your friends' happiness. It's not like you'd be a good choice for him anyway. Probably be dead in a year or two. Might as well stick to dating the dead – keep it simple.'**_

_Oz's POV_

Oz woke to find Buffy's body firmly pressed up against his. He could see she was still asleep, so he took the opportunity to look at her more closely. She was like the stereotypical California beauty; the kind he generally ignored. But knowing her a little better now – he thought he should re-evaluate his opinions of her.

He had already started to come to understand the day before that she had the same qualities that drew him to Willow at first. The only difference was, Buffy seemed more confident in her self-worth. Not to the point of arrogance, but enough to be attractive. Guess he should have realized it by now…he liked Buffy…and as more than just a friend. But he would have to wait and see how she felt before saying anything to jeopardize their friendship. She had already had to go through this once with Xander.

Still, he couldn't help but play with her golden hair as he sang a song to her in his mind. It seemed very appropriate to him.

'_**I'm looking over a four-leaf clover  
That I overlooked before.  
One leaf is sunshine, the second is rain,  
Third is the roses that grow in the lane.  
No need explaining, the one remaining  
Is somebody I adore.  
I'm looking over a four-leaf clover  
That I overlooked before.'**_

Imagine his surprise when he felt her wake up, then heard what had to be her thoughts. They were far too private to have been said aloud. Deciding to test his theory, Oz stopped singing and said silently, _**'Buffy? Can you hear me?'**_

Surprised when the song suddenly stopped and Oz spoke, Buffy looked up at him and blurted out, "Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"Because I wasn't talking out loud before. You heard my thoughts, just like I heard yours when you woke up," he answered gently, expecting her reaction, but not letting go of her shoulder.

Buffy's eyes widened in shock as she turned beet red with embarrassment. "Oh my god, you heard that?"

He gave her a warm smile. "Hey, don't feel all embarrassed. I thought it was nice – especially that Willow and Xander's behavior bugs you, too."

She sat up carefully so that they didn't get hurt. "Of course it does! If they wanted to be with each other, then they should have said something to you and Cordy about it first. I understand that they might be confused about everything, but they should have handled it differently."

Grateful for her supportive opinion, Oz still had to wonder about Buffy's situation. He had managed to forget that there was a rival for the blonde's affections. "How 'bout you? Now that Angel's back… How's he dealing with it and with being around you again?"

"He's more coherent every day. It's just--" Buffy let out a frustrated sigh. "Things are so different now. I still love him, but can I be with him without being _with_ him? Spike told us that we'll never be just friends; that we'll either be in love or trying to kill each other…probably both. Or at least that's what I got from Spike's rant."

Oz was impressed by her honesty; if only Willow could have done that. Of course, Buffy didn't know how he felt about her yet…not entirely. "I think he's only right if you can't let go. Like with Willow and me; if we try to hold onto the thought that we could get back together again, we'll never be able to become friends. That isn't to say that we couldn't become more later, just that we can't be friends, hoping for something else. And if I can't let go of my anger over her and Xander, then sooner rather than later, I'll start to hate her."

That comment surprised her. "You really think you could hate Willow?" Buffy asked.

His turn to be brutally honest. "I just feel like my heart's been ripped out by her. I'm sure it still would have hurt to have them tell us before it happened, but walking in on it? Let's just say that I could relate to how Cordy felt, and I wasn't impaled by anything."

Buffy leaned back against the headrest of the bed to think. Deciding to bite the bullet, she started rambling, "Umm, well, this might not be the best time to talk about this, but, okay, so since you heard my thoughts and everything, I guess you know that I kinda like you in more than just a friendly way?"

Oz smiled at her again. It was a very nice smile and she liked seeing it. "And the song I was singing was my way of saying the same thing," he admitted, putting his right arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his side.

She tilted her head to rest on his shoulder – another nice thing about him was their respective heights; made doing stuff like this so comfortable. "So what do we do now?" she whispered.

He gave her one last squeeze, then slid off the bed so he could pull her up. "First, I think we should tell Giles about the mind-reading thing. Since the cuffs haven't come off yet, it would seem like we have more to tell each other. Who knows, maybe this mind-reading thing is a good thing," he added optimistically.

Buffy thought about that for a second before guessing, "'Cause we can't lie to each other now?"

"Exactly."

Then she had another idea. "Have you wondered if it's just us? Maybe we can read other people's minds, too."

Oz cringed. "Not sure I'd want that ability. I bet it will be hard enough to deal with when it's just the two of us; hearing the thoughts of everyone around us? Ugh," he finished with a shudder.

"Good point," Buffy agreed. "So I guess we should see Giles, huh?"

"And be prepared in case we _can_ read other people's thoughts," Oz warned.

**Giles' apartment**

**An hour later…**

A somewhat nerve-wracking hour later, Buffy and Oz entered the Watcher's apartment. Nerve-wracking because of the stray thoughts they were sharing. They had to forgo showers because of the hormonal images pinging back and forth between them. They ended up with a wet wipe bath, like the soldiers use out in the desert. Crude, but the best they could manage at the moment.

"So, we woke up this morning – able to hear each other's thoughts," Buffy announced as they crossed the threshold. "Is it part of the spell on the cuffs?"

Blinking furiously to get his mind to catch up, Giles replied automatically, "It could be. Maybe a failsafe if it took you too long to admit your feelings? It could also be something else."

"Like the glowy blood last night?" Oz guessed.

"That's right! We each had a little on us!" Buffy exclaimed, pointing to their hands where the blood had soaked in a little before they wiped it off.

Giles moved to his desk where several books and a notepad lay. "I managed to find the demons…I think. They are called the Sa Ankida Saharruru."

Buffy looked down at the book with the name, nodding at the picture. "Wow. I'm not even gonna try that one," she commented, much to Oz and Giles' amusement.

"Good idea. What does it mean?" Oz inquired.

Pointing to his notepad, Giles said, "I was just translating it now. Sa means belong; Ankida is joining…" He kept flipping through the translating book. "Ah, here it is: Saharruru is quiet."

Buffy's face showed her confusion. "Still lost here."

"I get the quiet part. They didn't have mouths so it's not like they could talk," Oz explained when Buffy looked at him. "Maybe they communicated telepathically."

Giles nodded. "That makes sense. And the best guess I can make for the first two words is that they were somehow married – or at least the demon equivalent for married."

The Slayer's face scrunched up in concentration as she summarized the info, "So we killed a married couple that talked in their heads, and now we have their ability to do that? We aren't going to lose our mouths, are we?" she pleaded with a horrified expression.

"It's doubtful. I'll keep reading up on them while you two learn how to control this," the Watcher suggested. Then he had a stray thought. "Does it only work with you two, or can you hear _my_ thoughts?"

Remembering their attempts to hear people on the way over, Oz gave a sigh of relief. "Just us, thankfully. You know what, I think my mom can help us with this."

Buffy looked at him dubiously. "She's used to mind-reading demons?"

He just chuckled in reply. "No, but she's a yoga instructor; they're all about the mental control over oneself. She studies Raja Yoga, which is--"

Giles interjected, "…Control of the mind. Fascinating. I would love to speak with your mother sometime about her studies. But not right now; I have research to do, and you two have control to learn. Good luck with that. I'll see you later, alright?"

**Osbourne home**

After the pair filled her in, Cheryl let out a low whistle. "So mind reading? That's pretty powerful stuff. And dangerous, too."

"We were hoping you could help us figure out how to control it," Buffy requested, chewing the inside of her lower lip.

Cheryl led them to her workout room, then asked, "Do you do any type of mediation, Buffy?"

"She's great at Tai Chi," Oz declared proudly. He ignored the small grin his mom gave him while Buffy wasn't looking.

Buffy blushed at the compliment, then returned it, "Thanks. You're not too shabby yourself."

"That's good. We'll try working with that first. If that method doesn't work, we'll move onto a Yoga Kriya. Umm, Yoga exercise." Cheryl clarified for Buffy. She watched as they flowed through kata after kata, stunned at the beauty of their motions. "Wow. That was…amazing to watch. Uh, sit down in a relaxed position and close your eyes. Now, slowly imagine surrounding yourself with a bubble – but not just any kind of bubble. This one bends to your wishes and cannot be popped. Can you feel it all around you?"

"Yeah," Oz nodded.

"Uh-huh," agreed Buffy.

Keeping her voice quiet, Cheryl instructed them, "Now, Oz, try to read something from Buffy's mind. Buffy, don't let him in, but don't push back either."

Oz's face grew concentrated. After a few seconds, he shook his head. "I hear whispers, but nothing I can make out."

Cheryl hid her surprise at the ease with which they were managing, but continued, "Buffy, now you try to read Oz's thoughts."

"Nothing. Not even a whisper," Buffy answered after several minutes of trying.

"Good. I was hoping that you'd both do well because of your previous experiences in meditation. This part might be harder. Oz, try to read her thoughts, but this time, Buffy, let him."

Almost instantly, Oz chuckled. "A mocha? Really?"

Without opening her eyes, Buffy pouted, "What? I'm thirsty!"

Cheryl just laughed. "After you try, I'll treat you both. How does that sound?" After a few seconds, Buffy started to blush. "What?"

"He's singing a song; the same one from this morning," Buffy finally replied, the sweet blush continuing to stain her cheeks.

Her eyebrow raised, Cheryl asked, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"We're gonna see," her son answered enigmatically.

Deciding to set aside that question for later, Cheryl moved on to the next one, "How bad were the thoughts before?"

Buffy answered her, "Kinda echo-y. It was starting to give me a headache to hear talking and thoughts at the same time." Oz nodded his agreement.

"And now?"

"Just me in there," Oz replied.

Cheryl could see the tension leaching out of their bodies, and knew they'd crash soon – despite it being just a couple hours after they woke up. "Okay. Why don't you two go rest for a little bit? I'll wake you when I get back with the drinks."

* * *

A/N: Name for demons are Sumerian. Translations from .com/doc/22800102/Sumerian-Words.

A/N2: Next…The hits just keep on coming.


	10. Chapter 10: GreenEyed Monsters

**Chapter 10: Green-Eyed Monsters**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way. Bad words in this chapter. **Not for Willow or Angel lovers.**

Challenge: #2789: '_"I'm looking over a four leaf clover" _Challenge' by halfbloodpuffskin and #2886: 'Handcuffs of love...' by Methos. This is for the 'Hug a Donor' challenge. Thought I'd mix two together.

Thanks to my betas: This chapter is unbeta'd in my rush to post.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

**That evening…**

After spending the afternoon practicing their control over sharing thoughts, Buffy and Oz got a call from Giles. He needed to speak to them at the school about the demons; the books they needed to look at were there. Besides, he wanted to watch them train together again…to see if they were better or worse than the first night they were cuffed.

**Sunnydale Library**

"Oh good, there you are. Now, you said that each of you killed a demon? Who killed the female and who killed the male?" Giles asked, pointing to the sketches Oz made.

Buffy cringed, remembering the way they looked. "Eww! One of those things was _female_?"

"What's the difference between them?" Oz asked, setting aside his own shudders.

Showing them the differences in the pictures, Giles explained, "The male had the singular point while the female had the row of five."

"Guess I had the guy…I think," Buffy answered hesitantly.

Oz nodded. "Yeah, Buffy got the male; I got the other one."

"Good. Good," Giles murmured.

That sounded ominous. And that _wasn't_ of the good. "Why? What's up?" Buffy inquired.

Giles paused, trying to word his reply truthfully, but also without telling them too much. "If it had been the other way around, there could have been some complications."

Almost making an expression, Oz asked, "Like what?"

"The mind reading wouldn't be isolated to just the thoughts between you two. Eventually, you would hear the thoughts of everyone. It would drive you mad, and since both demons are dead, there'd be no chance for the cure," Giles recited from memory.

When he didn't continue, Buffy prompted, "And the cure is…?"

Knowing their reaction – 'cause it was the reaction of any normal human being – Giles quickly blurted out, "A potion made with the heart of the one you didn't kill – which, in both your cases, has already dissolved away with the rest of the demons."

Wasn't _that_ disgusting? Oz blandly commented, "Lucky us then."

"Indeed." Giles conveniently left out the real reason he asked: the demons were soulmates and if they were killed by the opposite sex of another pair of soulmates, the telepathy would shift over to the victors – as well as a bond of empathy. He would tell them that part after the cuffs came off. "Now let's try some training."

The three of them did some free-style fighting for a little bit before Giles called out, "Now let's see how you fight with just your left hands." He attacked them again, once with the pair facing opposite directions and the next time with Oz behind Buffy.

Since they were able to defend and attack more smoothly, Buffy grinned and declared, "Oh yeah! _Much_ easier this way!"

"Less painful too. I don't think the human arm is supposed to move that way," Oz added, shrugging his left shoulder. Too bad he wasn't double-jointed; that would have come in handy right about then.

Giles looked at the young man with concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yup," Buffy answered. She saw the strange look Giles sent her and realized she spoke out of turn. "Oops, sorry; just saying what Oz was thinking. Guess we better put our bubbles back up."

Oz's nose wrinkled slightly in distaste. "Huh, doesn't sound as cool as shields."

Buffy rolled her eyes in amusement. "Fine…_shields_. Feel like doing some more Tai Chi?" she asked as a bribe.

"Sure. It's actually really nice to do tandem katas with you," Oz replied softly, smiling at her.

The Watcher took in their closeness with a small amount of surprise. They were progressing rather quickly. At this rate, those cuffs would be gone within a week. Well, assuming they didn't let their nobility get in the way. To help keep the flow going, Giles decided to remove himself from the scene. "I'll be in my office, working on my journal. Holler if you need anything."

**A short time later…**

Angel walked to the library, hoping to find Giles there. He hadn't seen or heard from Buffy for a couple days and was starting to get worried. All Faith would say was that she was handling the patrols for the time being. As he snuck in through the stacks, he caught movement in the main room. Maybe Buffy was there training. But why had she stopped coming to visit? She wasn't still upset about what Spike said, was she?

He breathed in deeply to catch her scent…only to find it mingled with Oz's…_very_ mingled. The ensouled vampire raced to the edge of the stacks then frozen in place. She was doing Tai Chi with the werewolf. _His_ Slayer was with that creature! This was unacceptable! "What the hell is going on?!" he screamed as he moved to tear them apart.

Buffy instinctively moved to protect Oz from Angel. "What's your problem, Angel?" she shouted, pushing him away before he could lay a hand on either of them. She saw Giles come out of the office, but gestured for him to stay back.

"My problem is you're fucking around on me – and with _him_!" Angel snarled, his disgust clear in his voice and face.

The blonde Slayer started to cross her arms over her chest, then switched to sticking her right hand on her hip. "Okay, one…you and I aren't together, so you don't get to tell me who I can be with. And two…what's wrong with Oz?" she demanded, offended on behalf of her friend.

"He's an animal!" Angel yelled, amazed she didn't understand that already.

Buffy almost choked on the irony of that statement. "Hello! Don't you think that's a tad hypocritical coming from a _vampire_?"

Clearly her ex disagreed. "It's not the same thing."

"No, it isn't. As far as we know, Oz hasn't killed anyone." She sighed heavily in remorse when she saw the hurt look in Angel's eyes. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for."

Finally getting that being mad wasn't helping, Angel switched tactics. He gave her that soulful look that always worked to turn her to mush in the past. "Why Oz, Buffy?"

Having come in just then, Willow concurred. "Good question. I'd like to know the answer to that as well."

Suddenly feeling the need for some serious headache medicine, Buffy pinched the bridge of her nose, then sighed. "Not that it's either of your business, but Oz and I aren't sleeping together. Well, okay, technically we are, but we aren't having sex."

Angel just scoffed. "I can smell you on each other," he remarked accusingly.

"Well, duh! We've been handcuffed to each other since Wednesday night; of course our smells are mixed," Buffy pointed out.

"Just break them," Angel demanded, assuming that if she really didn't want to be cuffed to the werewolf, she wouldn't be.

She rolled her eyes again – this time in annoyance. "Gee, why didn't we think of that? Oh wait! We did! They're magically locked and will only come off when the spell is broken."

Xander – who had come in with Willow – spoke up at the mention of a spell, "So Giles was right…again. What a shocker. How is the spell broken? Giles didn't tell me when I gave him the all clear on myself."

Casting a quick look at Angel and Willow, Oz quickly interjected, "That's between me and Buffy."

Buffy put her hand on Oz's arm, ignoring the growls and glares from their respective exes. "We might as well tell them; it's not like they're just gonna accept that answer."

"Darn tootin' we won't!" Willow confirmed. Buffy looked way too comfortable touching _her_ Oz. What gave her the right?

Trying to be vague about how far they had gotten already, Buffy summarized, "The best way we had it figured was Oz and I needed to get to know each other better."

Angel's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Better, _how_? "Why?" he asked instead.

"Because that's the only way we could honestly say that we knew how we felt about each other," Oz calmly explained. Buffy was right; it would be better to be upfront about this. He didn't want them to feel like they had to hide their relationship – whichever way it went.

Shaking his head in confusion, Xander commented, "I don't understand."

"Once we know how we feel and tell each other, then the cuffs should come off – at least that's what Giles' magicky friend said," Buffy added as an afterthought.

Willow's jaw clenched in anger and she accused, "So you two have been making with the smoochies!"

Oz looked at the girl he had cared about for almost a year, wondering where the Willow he fell for was; this girl certainly wasn't her. "No, we haven't."

The ensouled vampire just scoffed, "Yeah, right! You expect us to believe that you've spent the last 48 hours or so in constant contact and haven't kissed?"

"Uhh, yeah!" Buffy snapped back. "We kinda had other things to worry about. Talking to each other, to our parental figures, meditating, training, fighting demons, getting infected with some creepy demon thing…you know, the usual," she snarked.

"Faith said she was handling the patrols," Angel reminded them, the accusation in his voice clear. Honestly, Buffy wasn't that good of a liar; why did she think he'd believe this one?

She leveled her Slayer glare on her ex-honey. "Unexpected Slayage. It's not like we could let the demons go." Geez, did he forget how that happened…like _all_ the time?

As happy as he would normally be about seeing Buffy finally seeing Angel for the creep he was, Xander was more worried about something else right now. "What did you get infected with?"

"Mind-reading ability," Oz answered.

"What?!" Willow shrieked.

"You can read my thoughts?" Xander asked at the same time, horrified about what that could mean.

Buffy hurried to reassure them, "Nah, just each other's."

"So your thoughts about sex are safe from us," Oz added with a small smirk in Xander's direction.

"Whew." Xander breathed a sigh of relief at Buffy's words, only to be shocked by Oz's. "Wait! How did you know?"

Deciding to take pity on the guy, Oz explained. "We're teenage boys; it's kind of a given." Huh, it was interesting that seeing Xander and Willow didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. Maybe this spell thing was good after all.

Willow pouted as she realized something. "So you're thinking sexy thoughts, and Buffy can hear them?"

"Actually, Oz sings a lot in his head. Must be the band thing," Buffy interjected, conveniently forgetting their earlier difficulties getting ready that morning. They shared a quick thought at the memory of the song and fought to keep from smiling.

"Oh…good. I was afraid you were gonna break the girlfriend's code about stealing a guy," Willow remarked, feeling the overwhelming need to remind Buffy of the code.

To which Oz answered, "I'm not yours anymore. Even if she and I were to get together, it wouldn't be stealing."

Angry at Buffy's attitude since he came in, Angel barked, "What about me? Or doesn't it count to cheat on your boyfriend if he's a vampire?"

Starting to get fed up with Angel's Angelus-like behavior, Buffy mentally calmed herself before speaking, "We already talked about this, Angel. Remember? We decided to just be friends, then later Spike did his 'you can't be friends' rant. Then I came back and said that's what we had to be or we couldn't be around each other at all. Any of this ringing a bell?"

She took another deep breath, then looked at both Angel and Willow as she laid it out for them, "Here's the bottom line: Oz and I are both free agents – granted, it hasn't been that long for either of us, but we are. We enjoy each other's company and look forward to learning more about each other's lives. We may stay friends or we may grow into something more than friends, but that is between Oz and me."

"So our friendship means nothing to you?" Willow asked, her eyes tearing up at the idea of losing her best friend and boyfriend at the same time.

Buffy really wished the cuffs were off now so she could comfort Willow without making things more awkward for all of them. But as long as she was physically connected to Oz, she held back. "Of course it does. However, I wasn't the one who broke you two up. It was your actions with Xander that did that. Now, I'm sorry to be so harsh about it, but that's the way it is," she said as kindly as she could under the circumstances.

The redheaded girl couldn't let go though. "But Oz and I could work through that and get back together. If you get in the way, that won't happen!"

Oz realized that he needed a better break with Willow, regardless of where things went with Buffy. "Are you willing to just be my friend? With no expectation for anything more?" he asked gently.

"Why are you asking that?" Willow's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You've already fallen for her, haven't you? I shoulda known that would happen. Every male falls for her sooner or later!"

Despite how true her words could be, Oz ignored the accusation for the moment. "I was telling Buffy earlier that you and I can't be friends if either of us is expecting it to be more later. Same goes for her and I." His expression turned sad as he gestured to him and Buffy, "Right now we have a firmer foundation for friendship than you and I do. A big part of that is our willingness to accept that we may stay friends or we may fall in love – and either one is fine with us."

Wanting to break the tension in the room, Xander quipped, "Wow, Oz, you okay? I don't think I've heard you say so many words before. You didn't strain anything, did you?"

"_Xander_," Buffy lightly scolded. "Willow, I have to be honest with you. Before this, I hadn't even considered Oz as a potential sweetie. No offense to him, but he just wasn't somebody I thought about that way. After getting to know him better, though… I think maybe there's something good that could happen with us. I don't expect you to be happy for us anytime soon if we decide to date, but I won't let you make us feel like we've done something wrong."

Willow took a closer look at the two of them. The idea still tore her heart apart, but it finally sunk in that this was only possible because of her own actions. She really had only herself to blame. "There's nothing I can say, is there?" Both Buffy and Oz shook their heads sadly in confirmation. "Please don't rub my face in it, 'k?"

Giving her best friend a small smile of gratitude, Buffy nodded again. "Not a chance. We don't want to hurt you or Angel. I hope you both believe that." Angel didn't answer, choosing instead to storm out of the library. Oh well, that was his problem, not theirs.

Oz looked at the clock on the wall. Knowing they all needed the chance to deal with everything privately, he spoke up, "We gotta split; Buffy's mom is expecting us for dinner in about half an hour."

* * *

A/N: Next…In the early morning light.


	11. Chapter 11: Realizations

**Chapter 11: Realizations**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #2789: '_"I'm looking over a four leaf clover" _Challenge' by halfbloodpuffskin and #2886: 'Handcuffs of love...' by Methos. This is for the 'Hug a Donor' challenge. Thought I'd mix two together.

A/N: This is the last chapter of this story. I may consider turning this into a series at some point in the future though – if there is enough interest…both of readers' and Musie's.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal and AerynSpeedleCaine.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

**Summers home**

Once dinner was over with, Buffy and Oz offered to do the clean-up, much to Joyce's amusement and gratitude. Amazingly, they worked together well to clear the table and get the kitchen back in order.

"What's the matter? Are you worried that Angel will cause problems?" Oz asked as he put the last dish in the dishwasher. She had been pensive ever since they left the library – though she carefully hid it from her mother during dinner.

Buffy seemed startled by the question, almost to the point of jumping when he spoke. "Huh? Uh, not really." Then she reconsidered her words before adding, "I mean, sorta; he was pretty pissed off. But at least we know where we stand with him."

Leaning back on the counter next to her, Oz inquired cautiously, worried that he already knew the answer, "What do you mean?"

"Did that seem too easy with Willow? I know she's my best bud and everything, but still… If the situation were reversed, I don't know that I would give up that quickly," Buffy admitted. "Or is it that I'm not as good a person as she is?"

He narrowed his eyes at her question – especially since it sounded serious. Suddenly, Oz realized that the self-confidence Buffy appeared to exude was just a mask; in some ways she was more insecure than Willow. That was shocking to realize. "First of all, you are just as good a person – maybe better. After all, you haven't cheated on your boyfriend, right?"

She just shrugged half-heartedly in return. Remembering her time in LA wasn't exactly the highlight of her life. "To be honest, I kinda did back before I was Called. We never made with the smoochies, but there was serious flirting going on. And my social life since then has been pretty odd. Apparently, I don't like normal guys anymore."

"I would feel offended by that comment, except I'm rather proud not to be normal. That's just another way to say average, and who really wants to be average?" Oz asked with a smirk.

Buffy thought about his words carefully, then graced him with a bright grin. "I never thought about it like that before. Huh. Thanks for the lesson in perspectives, Oz."

He bumped shoulders with her to ease the tension in the room even more. "No prob. So you think we should expect some trouble?"

"Well, I can't imagine what she could do to us that Angel couldn't do worse." Buffy saw the question in Oz's eyes and continued, "He'd be the physical threat and she would be the computer threat. I can beat him if necessary; so the question is, can you beat her?"

"What about her magick?" Oz pointed out.

She just shook her head dismissively. "She isn't that good yet, is she? Other than the re-ensouling spell, what has she managed to do?"

Her casual mention of the spell surprised him – as well as the way she didn't seem to be concerned about the power Willow must have had to pull it off. "Nothing that I know of, but isn't that enough?" he inquired with a hint of worry.

Buffy shook her head again. "Not really. I ran into a balance demon in LA after I sent Angel to hell, and he told me that the Powers That Be basically used Willow as a conduit for completing the spell. They couldn't directly interfere by _making_ her do the spell, but they could nudge her abilities along so that she had the power to finish it. After all, it took the ruling members of the gypsy clan to do the spell in the first place; Willow being able to do it with barely any magick training? Not likely," she said with a snort.

Realizing that what she said actually made a lot of sense, Oz recalled his own doubts about what happened. "Would explain some stuff about that day. Thought it was a little strange how she suddenly started spouting fluently in a different language. She isn't possessed or anything, right?"

"Nah. They just shoved some power into her temporarily. My guess is that if there was going to be any side effects from it, it would most likely be addiction. Having access to that much power must have been quite the rush." Her eyes widened a little as she just thought of something. "Suppose I should tell Giles about that; kinda forgot about my talk with Whistler until just now."

Not really feeling up to anymore revelations, Oz allowed himself to yawn, then asked, "Do you mind if we hit the hay early tonight? Keeping these shields up is getting easier, but it still wipes me out."

"Fine with me. I'm beat from all the drama of tonight."

**A couple hours later…**

Whimpering and frantic movement roused Oz out of his sleep. He carefully shifted in place so he could look at his friend and possible future romantic partner. When he saw she was still asleep, he gently shook her. "Buffy, wake up! You're having a nightmare."

"No! Let me go!" she cried out before her eyes flew open. Seeing that she was safely in her own bedroom, Buffy shook her head to clear her mind of the dark images hovering there. "Oz? What's going on?"

"You were having a nightmare. Want to talk about it?" he asked softly, putting his arm behind her head so they could be more comfortable.

Buffy took advantage of the change in positions to bury her face in his chest. "Not really," she murmured.

Oz tilted his head so he could see her face. "Was it just a nightmare? It felt awfully real to me," he commented, letting her know that he knew what she dreamed about.

Her eyes widened again, but this time in dismay. Those weren't memories she ever wanted to have again – much less share with anyone. "Oh my gosh, did you see my dream?"

"Guess it's part of the mind-sharing deal," he replied calmly. Oz could tell she wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon, so he slid off the bed, pulling her with him. "C'mon, let's go get some hot chocolate and sit in front of the fireplace while we talk about this. I think it will help." When she still hesitated, he offered, "If it will make you feel better, I'll share something painful from my past, too."

"I don't think it makes me feel better that you have something as bad as that to share," Buffy said with a sad voice. She let him lead her out of the room though. "But I do like the idea of the hot chocolate and cuddles in front of the fire."

They made the hot chocolate in silence, then got comfortable on the floor in front of the fire – having moved cushions and a throw blanket to make it even cozier. When they were all squished into place, Oz began the tender questioning, "So I take it the drugs and restraints were real?"

Buffy leaned back into his chest, unwilling to face him just then. "Yup. I told my parents the truth about the vampires when the Hemery gym went up in flames, foolishly thinking they would believe me. When I heard about a couple of the interns who liked to _use_ the cuter female patients, I decided that lying to get out sounded really good to me. So that's what I did. I told the doctors that I was smoking because I was stressed out about my parents' divorce and that the fire was just an accident."

Guessing that Buffy wouldn't let innocent women be at risk – even from human evil – Oz asked, "What happened with the interns?"

Her answer confirmed his belief in her goodness. "The state got an anonymous tip about them. Lucky for the state, one of the interns wasn't very good at remembering to use a condom and got a patient pregnant. Not so lucky for the girl, though. But she was in a catatonic state, so…" Buffy trailed off helplessly.

Oz shuddered at the idea. "Still, that's sickening!"

"Hey, no arguments from me," Buffy quickly agreed. Then she snorted in amazement. "You know, the surprising thing is, Mom doesn't remember me telling her back in LA. At least not that it was about vampires; she remembers me saying that I was trying to save people."

"Sounds like a different take on the Sunnydale Syndrome." Sensing she was done with her hellish story, Oz gave her a brief hug, then asked, "Ready to hear my sob story?"

Reveling in the feeling of his embrace, Buffy finally shook off the bad memories to say, "You don't have to, Oz."

She could feel him shake his head behind her. "Actually, I think I do. The only one who knows outside the family is Mark from the Dingoes. We don't talk about it very often; just on my birthday," he admitted softly.

Hearing the pain in his voice, Buffy decided to let him tell her. "Why your birthday?"

His arms tightened again and he rested his head on her shoulder. His whispered answer tickled her ear. "Because it was Katie's birthday, too."

Buffy made the intuitive leap of who Katie was. "You had a twin sister? What happened to her?"

Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, Oz rushed to get it out, "She died of leukemia when we were 3 years old after fighting with it for almost 18 months."

"God, Oz! I'm so sorry that your family had to go through that!" Buffy exclaimed, turning so she could give him a real hug.

They stayed like that while Oz kept going with his story, "They couldn't even use my blood 'cause I was too weak. See, we were premature and almost died a couple times before we left the hospital. It took until I was like 13 before I stopped having health problems all the time. Up until then I was homeschooled to lower my chances of getting sick from the other kids. Irony is, becoming a werewolf has caused me to be healthier than ever. Too bad it didn't happen earlier in the school year; I may have been able to graduate."

"Wow, didn't anyone ask why you suddenly started school in what? Seventh grade? I can't believe you didn't get an exemption for being sick. Snyder is such a--" she broke off with a growl. Next time she saw that troll, she would figure out a way to make him pay.

"He stated the rule that said I had to attend so many days, and that if we had a problem with the rules, we were more than welcome to have me finish my schooling at home. Personally, I thought it was because he found out I was dating Willow, and since she's part of the Scooby Gang…" Oz stopped talking, worried that he said too much.

Her next words were exactly why he stopped. "He took out his hatred of me on you. God, I'm sorry, Oz."

Oz shrugged carelessly. "Don't be. My folks and I don't care. Heck, if I wanted to, I could take the GED test anytime and get out of Snyder's school of hell."

"So you really _did_ just stay for Willow." Buffy felt proud of his loyalty, yet at the same time, she was worried that she'd never be worthy of that kind of loyalty.

"Yes and no. Being part of the Scoobies has made me feel part of something important, and I didn't want to give that up just yet. I love the Dingoes, but it's just a band. You save the world, and it is an incredible feeling to know that I help you," he admitted. "Or at least I hope I do."

Buffy hastened to assure him, "You all do – even Cordelia. Seriously though, I don't know how much you know about what a regular Council-trained Slayer is like."

"Just what I learned from meeting Kendra." Oz couldn't say he was too impressed with her. She didn't have the same fire as Buffy did; she was almost like life-sized robot doll, programmed to slay.

"Well, she's the poster child for the 'perfect Slayer' – including her life expectancy. She died almost right on schedule for a normal Slayer. Every Council Slayer for the past 400 years had died within 2 years of being Called." Buffy let out a short, bittersweet laugh. "Heck, so did I; except, in my case, I had 'unapproved' friends who didn't let me stay dead. I don't know if it would have made a difference in any other Slayer's case, but I know that if I followed the Council rules, I wouldn't be here right now. Having you guys as friends gives me something to fight for…to live for. That's something Kendra didn't have."

Oz couldn't stop himself from hugging her again; it was becoming somewhat addictive. "From a selfish standpoint, I'm glad you want to live. Life wouldn't be the same without you here – and I'm not just talking about you as the Slayer. I mean, we have Faith for that. But she isn't you, so even as a Slayer…I prefer you. More importantly, I like Buffy more, too."

Grinning madly in her mind, Buffy carefully schooled her expression so she didn't freak him out with how happy he just made her. "Thanks, Oz."

**The next morning…**

Oz woke up when he realized that the wonderful dream he was having wasn't just a dream. He peeked through slitted eyelids to find they were still lying in front of the fireplace. He stifled a groan as he grabbed Buffy's hand to remove it from that sensitive part of his anatomy. "Uh, Buffy? As much as I'm really enjoying what you're doing with your hand right now, I don't think the floor in the living room where your mom could walk in on us is the best place to be doing this," he whispered huskily.

Her eyes flew open at his words, instantly awake and mortified. "Oh my god! I can't believe I was-- You must think--" she stammered while hyperventilating.

"Breathe, Buffy. It's okay; no harm done." When she stopped panting, he asked, "You better now?"

"I am sooo sorry, Oz. I don't know what my slutty sleeping mind was thinking." Buffy's face flushed, then she admitted, "Okay, I have _some_ clue."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, you know you're really cute when you blush like that?"

Buffy glared at him, but he could see there wasn't any real anger in her eyes. "You better watch the teasing, mister, or you're gonna get a Slayer-smack from me."

"No teasing. You are very adorable right now." Oz's expression turned very serious as he cupped her face with his right hand. He locked eyes with her and he said, "In fact, I'd very much like to kiss you."

"Really?" Buffy squeaked in a decidedly non-Slayerish way.

Oz nodded, "Really, truly."

Buffy started to lean in, then pulled back abruptly. The action startled Oz. "Can it wait for a minute? I have something to say to you first."

"Sure, what's wrong?" he asked warily.

"Nothing wrong…exactly. Or I guess it depends on your viewpoint; mine is split between 'yay' for me and 'boo' for my friendship with Willow," she rambled semi-incoherently.

Oz stopped her with a gesture. His face was a mask of confusion. "Okay, I've gotten better at Buffy-speak, but I can't say I fully understood that."

"Well, depending on your viewpoint, this could be really, really good for selfish-me, but at the same time, it's bad for the part of me that is Willow's best friend." She took a quick, deep breath, then blurted out, "Okay, here goes… I think I might be fallinginlovewithyou."

"Wow, what made you realize that?" Oz inquired, stunned at her admission. He really thought it would take her longer to say it – especially after the disaster that was her relationship with Angel.

Buffy played with the front of his nightshirt as she recited a partial list of the top reasons, "A bunch of little things that I've learned about you over the past few days. Like, you have fabulous parents who are uber-supportive; you're a very caring guy; your life has sucked more than mine and you never complain about it; you've got a nice body, and an even nicer mind."

"Here I thought you just liked me for my guitar skills," Oz teased. "By the way, since I didn't say it earlier, I love you, too. At first it was just as a friend, but the last couple days it's become something bigger. The way you care for others more than yourself is incredible. However, can't say it seems the healthiest thing to bury all the hurt you feel inside so you don't have to ask for somebody else to share your burden. I hope you know you don't have to do that with me," he said, pleading with his eyes that she'd let him in.

She snorted in response, "As if I could. You can read my thoughts, remember?"

"Not if you don't want me to. Unless it's an emergency situation, I don't want to invade your privacy," he promised.

"I understand; same goes for me reading your thoughts without permission." She moved her left hand to a more comfortable position, only to have the cuffs slide off. She smiled brightly at Oz, shaking the cuffs in his face. "Ooo, hey! Looks like we broke the spell."

Oz returned the grin, then leaned back in with darkened eyes. His intent was clear before he even uttered the words, "Does that mean we can have our celebratory kiss now?"

Once Buffy thought she could talk, she managed to gasp out, "If you don't mind the morning breath."

"I think I can deal if you can."

Before she could say anything else, he captured her lips with his. It started out soft and hesitant, then grew in passion. Within seconds, they were in a heated embrace, only breaking apart when oxygen became a vital necessity. Knowing that they weren't alone in the house, they reluctantly stopped themselves from returning to the kiss. They could always continue when they were alone later.

**Epilogue**

**A short time later…**

Not bothering with knocking, Willow burst into Angel's mansion, startling the brooding vampire in the living room. "We have a problem!" she declared.

"Willow? What are you doing here?" he demanded, knowing by her tone that nobody was hurt. She sounded angry, not worried.

She started pacing around the room, trying to calm herself down. When that didn't work, she yelled, "I just came from Buffy's house and saw them…all snuggly and making with the smoochies!"

Angel's face showed his confusion. "I thought you were okay with them as long as they didn't rub it in your face."

"That's when I thought it had something to do with the handcuffs!" Willow confessed. "But the handcuffs came off _before_ they kissed! I saw them through the window. Apparently, they aren't worried who sees them. Geez, her mom could have come down and caught them!" she said, her disgust plain.

"So what do you want to do about it? What _can_ we do about it?" Angel asked.

"I'm not sure…yet." Willow's eyes grew wild with jealousy. "But Oz belongs with me – just like Buffy belongs with you."

* * *

A/N: I'm an evil stinker for leaving it like that, I know. But no worries, there is a bunny hopping around with ideas for a sequel if you really want it.


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